Category Archives: Travel

Gus’s #Singapore.

Friday, 30 August

4:37 p.m.

Marmalade Toast. Orchard Road. Singapore.

I went to PS. Cafe for the coffee. Well, I went once this morning in Ann Siang Hill. For the coffee. But they weren’t open yet. So I called it a miss. Later, I decided to stop off in Orchard Road between the S.E.A. Aquarium S.E.A. Aquarium(evidently, the world’s largest) and the National Orchid Garden, and I vaguely recalled that PS. had another location in the area. An area that, for the record, has been torture in my hangry, broke-ass state. Every store you could possibly wish to visit is probably here, including Christian Louboutin. And I’m painfully aware that having the desire to buy things in a store does not equate to having the means, which is one thing about Orchard Road that’s frustrating: The tease. 

Another thing is that there’s very little life on the actual road, as most of the boutiques, restaurants, etc. are housed in massive, immensely disorienting shopping malls with powerful-sounding names. Like Paragon. Which is where I found PS. number two.  Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Cough Tea and Electric Toast and GOWs

Yesterday, I ducked into Eu Yan Sang, a historic medicine house in Chinatown, and grabbed a bottle of tea for my cough. Yes, that is correct: Cough tea. The woman who sold it to me said, “Drink once.” And then added, “Your cough. Do not take chicken or egg.” Not that I eat chicken, but this was news to me. I nodded soberly.

Cough Tea

So, for the record, the sugary brew did actually seem to help.

I spent most of the day working on a story before heading off to legendary Little India. To be frank, I don’t see what all of the fuss is about. I mean, there is some quaint, colourful architecture and, yes, an abundance of Indian food. But mostly, there are a lot of dudes walking around in the street and a lot of stores peddling technology on the cheap. Perhaps I missed something. It’s worth seeing, anyway.

From there, I went full-on tourist and took a train to the Singapore Flyer. I reckon if I keep thrusting (went there) myself into situations where I am precariously suspended at great heights, eventually, that tension in my delts will vanish. It hasn’t happened yet. I always pay the $30 excitedly, meander through the pre-ferris wheel display of facts and figures, then look around anxiously at my fellow patrons, hoping for for priests and infants. Or, at the very least, handsome fellas onto whom I can clutch.

This particular giant observation wheel, or “GOW,” happens to be the tallest in the world at 165 metres. It’s a full 30 metres higher than the London Eye, but by my watch, it moves a little slower and feels sturdier. Once I was at the top, I was loving the glorious sight that is Singapore from the sky. So worth the dollars. And they take cards! Post-“flight,” I walked across the DNA (Helix) Bridge to Marina Bay. If you happen to be in the market for some Gucci or some overpriced frozen coffee (which I was, for the latter), go to Marina Bay. Also, if you are hopped up on said coffee, you can seemingly linger here into the late evening hours. The place was bumping well past 9 p.m..

In other news, this morning, I thought a fellow Pillows and Toast Heritage guest was going to electrocute herself while retrieving her toast. With metal tongs. While the toaster was plugged in. I nearly swatted them out of her hand, but she made it out unscathed.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

#LivingTheDream / “Risky Biscuits” . #Singapore .

Singapore.

Tuesday, 27 August. 9:09 p.m..

Dinner time. Again.

I’ve been in Singapore for 3.5 hours and it would be incredibly easy, if not for the fact that everything seems to require cash. money. dolla’ dolla’ bills, yo.

As a freelance journalist and gypsy, I probably rely [a little too heavily] upon worldwide acceptance of Visa cards in moments when bills that need to be paid eclipse invoices that have been paid. This is one of those moments.

Upon disembarking after my 11-hour flight from Auckland, I sent an email to the madre that stated, “I’m here! Got a new stamp in the ol’ passport, just waiting for my bag then heading to the city. Love you!” I collected said bag and discovered that I needed cash to buy a ride on the city shuttle. I needed SGD $9. With fear in my heart, I headed to the nearest ATM and my fears were realised when I saw that TD Bank had withdrawn its malevolent maintenance fee with laughably poor timing. Also, I hadn’t been paid in the previous 11 hours. In short, I was penniless. Literally. And I was stuck in the airport.

I happened to have some random international currency in my wallet and I pathetically exchanged five Aussie dollars and five U.S. dollars for a little more than 11 Singaporean bucks and slunk onto the shuttle. When I arrived at Pillows & Toast Heritage, I was reminded that I’d only booked the room with a deposit and–guess what! This hostel only accepts cash payments. Feck.

I was reduced to asking for a mini loan from my mum, which, I can tell you, does not feel good.

On the bright side, I can eat with chopsticks…

Someone recently told me that living this way is “risky biscuits.” I was like, “Yeah, heh.” And I merely thought, I’m gonna steal that turn of phrase. Today, as I contemplated purchasing strangers’ overpriced Frappuccinos in exchange for cold, hard cash, in order to escape the aeropuerto, I saw cookies in an utterly unappetising light. For the first time in the history of me.

Come on, lifestyle sponsor, where are you?

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

More New Zealand Beers.

Getting myself from Auckland to New Plymouth last year was a hellish mission. Think road works and foul weather and hairpin turns and four-cylinder engines and utter lack of cell signal. On the left-hand side of the road. Under the cover of night. I’m not sure whether I mined some value from the experience, or if the return journey was so fantastic that it masked the horror I felt while making that drive alone, but I thought it wise to once again hire an automobile this year. AND decided to shake things up by flying into Wellington in Auckland’s stead, a route that turned out to be nearly as lengthy, but a lot less nerve-racking.

Anyway, down to beer business. I added a few new Kiwi beers to the list while hanging ’round New Plymouth. Unfortunately, I still haven’t made it to Mike’s Organic Brewery. (I’m determined to go next year.) I did have amazing eggs florentine at Lahar in Okato, though, so it’s all good. When I arrived back in Wellington, the beer situation got really interesting. My friend Tully (of #TullysWellington Instagram fame) sent me to beer heaven, also known as Malthouse on Courtenay Place. I walked in, grabbed a stool, and said, “I would like a New Zealand beer that I’ve never had before.” Then this happened:

Tasters

The guy behind the bar, Van, was ah-mazingly knowledgable and keen to serve up all kinds of wonderful beers of which I’d never heard. My favorite was definitely Yeastie Boys Pot Kettle Black. The Yeastie Boys’ name didn’t hurt their case, but their beer was pretty much the best beer I’ve had in… well, a long time. This is what they say about Pot Kettle Black:

“Pot Kettle Black is our multi-award winning ‘Black IPA’ (that some call a ‘Hoppy Porter’). The different names convey the fact that this beer is a contradiction of styles: fresh and hoppy, yet dark and rich. Most importantly it is mindbendingly delicious and a complete original.”

Check the freshly alphabetized KIWI BEER LIST here.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Aussie Beer List Lives!

$12 Beer.

$12 Beer.

I’m in Margaret River, WA at the moment, where you can’t stumble over without landing in some fantastic winery or brewery’s car park, so I’m finding lots of great local beers. And also spending too much money in the name of beer snobbery. Please, make my “efforts” worthwhile and go check the latest.

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Gold Coast: So, we meet again.

When I was at uni, my friends (cruelly) dared me to strike up a conversation with a fellow bar patron. They identified him from across the crowded room as the man with the highest blood-alcohol content and, presently, the least dignity.

“Hey, you look familiar,” I said. “Do we have a class together?”

Through the haze of his intoxication, he had some difficulty recognizing that he didn’t recognize me. “Yeahhh,” he slurred. “Yeah. Friday mornings?”  Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,